


Sleeping the Day Away

by Betery



Series: Highnoon in the Universe [12]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cryostasis, Gen, Hurt and comfort, mentions of rise and shine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 02:51:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13226607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Betery/pseuds/Betery
Summary: Lance wants to have a spa day and manage to run into Mei who he ropes into having a spa day with him and through his magical powers of being a people person manage to wring her life story out of her. He never thought that kind of horror story would ever happen to him, but in space and Altean technology, anything is possible.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is way later than I want it to be but I hope you enjoy. :)

**Then:**

**Lance loved to treat himself, by eating something delicious, having a gun off with his pa, even meditating with Zenyatta could be a treat. Most of the time though when Lance was stressed he would default to what had become a longstanding habit with his younger sisters: moisturize.**

**So, Lance headed for the kitchen for some supplies, he knew that somewhere in the cooking stores as per Ana’s suggestion some avocado's were hidden and he wanted to steal a couple away. On the way to said destination he spotted Mei walking by with an arm full of papers.**

**“Mei!” Lance greeted with a flash of a smile, “How are you? You look a little bogged down.”**

**Mei struggled to get the papers straightened out, snowball pushing up at her glasses that were falling down her nose, “Oh, hi Lance! I didn’t see you there.” Her words were song like and her smile was blinding, she was way too pure for this world!**

**“I can imagine, need help with those papers?”**

**“Oh would you? I don’t want to be any trouble.” With those wide eyes, Mei could probably ask Lance to kill a man and he wouldn’t mind.**

**“It’s no trouble at all beautiful.” He teased lightly, “I’m always a gentleman.”**

**Mei giggled as Lance took a folder or two, “You are such a flirt Lance!”**

**Again, Lance grinned, “I try to be.”**

**They made their way to her office and Lance helps her straighten up and Mei flops into her chair. “I’ve got so much paperwork to do I don’t think I’m going to be done until next year.” She rubs at her eyes under her glasses. When was the last time she had gotten a good sleep? Or a good face mask in?**

**“Hey Mei, doing paperwork sounds fun and all…. But wanna have a Spa day instead?”**

**Mei perks up, “Spa day?”**

**Lance grins.**

**Mei and Lance gathered their supplies and Mei even thought to add in a sugar scrub to soften up their hands and arm. “You’re face deserves, love.” She said, applying the sugar to her arm. “But so, does the rest!!”**

**Mei was so bubbly and cheerful Lance couldn't help but see his sisters in Mei. Maybe it was the glimmer in her smile?**

**Currently, they were sitting in Mei’s room, and it was just as bubbly and cozy as she was. With plush covers and but firm pillows (which Lance didn’t mind. Having your head supported was important) Lance couldn’t help himself. He fished his phone out from his pocket and he leaned over to Mei.**

**“We have to immortalize this moment!” he claims, and Mei beams, leaning in, snowball joining the picture as they grin at the camera. Lance takes a few photo’s and flicked through them to find his favorite when he found the ONE he quickly shot Mei an email with the photo attached ‘that way you now have an eternal memory of yours truly!’ Mei was a giggling mess on the bed and Lance went to place his phone on the nightstand, on there was a cute monster mug and a photo next to it. Which was strange since all of the other photo’s were on her vanity which was next to the door to her bathroom.**

**Curious, Lance reached out to it and looked at the people there. It was in Antarctica and everyone was wearing their snow gear. Mei was in the picture and there was…something about the way she looked here that was different than the way she looked now, even though she looked practically the same age.**

**“Hey Mei?” Lance asked turning to Mei who was glossing up Snowball. She looked up with her avocado face blinking curiously.**

**“Who are these people?” Lance asked, handing her the photo, and Mei had to bring the picture close to her** **face, squinting at the frame to take it all in. When she realized what it was, her eyes widened, and she smiled softly, bringing the frame to her lap, and gently stroking the glass.**

**“These are- _were_ my wonderful friends, and the best scientists you could find anywhere.” **

**Snowball made a low beep and bumped her hand his little face flashing in an angled expression of concern. Mei smiled and pet the little bot.**

**“What happened to them?” Lance asked softly, He was standing in front of the bed now, unsure what to do. Spa day had suddenly become a lot heavier than what he had wanted it to be.**

**Mei looked up at Lance, and pat the place beside her on the mattress. “It’s a bit of a long story.” She lilted, and Lance sat.**

**“I like stories.”**

**Mei looked at Lance, then to the picture and she took a deep breath,**

**“We were stationed at Ecopoint Antarctica to measure some anomalies cropping up around the area…”**

**And she shared her story. The excitement the crew had when they got there, the shenanigans they got up to as the satellite-gathered data and they had to fix one thing, analyze another. How Her crew had to go into cryostasis to make it through the storm, but it was a much longer nap than what had been intended.**

**“I woke up, and I started about my day like normal.” She said wistfully, her eyes distant, “I even started making drinks for everyone.”**

**She had gone to analyze the data, discovered how long that they had been asleep, Mei’s eyes started watering a bit and Lance placed a hand on hers. Mei sniffed and smiled.**

**“It’s alright Lance. I went back to the cryo-stasis pods, and tried to wake them up, only to find that the pods had malfunctioned and inside…inside everybody…”**

**Her breath hitched, “Everybody was gone. I was alone, with snowball…and since then, it has been my goal to make the world a better place with the data that was gathered, sometimes…I look at this picture and think. ‘Did I try my best?’ and I did try, Lance. I tried my best. I think all the time about how I could have given one last check to the pods before I went to sleep and how I can be a valued member to Overwatch again even though I have missed so much. I’ve learned so many hard lessons. Since I woke up from cryo-statis.”**

**Mei took a breath, looking at Lance then leaning over, behind him to put the frame back. She struggled a bit and pushed the frame back with the tips of her fingers. “It’s okay to fail even if you’ve tried your hardest.” She continues, pulling back, and twiddling her fingers looking at her nails. “The important thing is to reboot and try again! That’s why we have these Spa Days, right?” She smiles and giggled, snowball beeping in agreement.**

**His heart heavier and lighter at the same time Lance nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “Yeah, now let’s go wash this stuff off our faces.”**

**As Mei receded into the bathroom Lance looked one last look at the picture, the faces that Mei had lost. Lance decided then and there no matter what, he would try his best to save those closest to him when it counted.**

 

Now:

Red lights were flashing around the Castle, burn marks marred the walls, and Lance’s lungs were burning his limbs were aching; with every step, it sent sharp stings of agony through his left leg, but he couldn’t stop. They had finally gotten out of danger, and he needed to get into the pods.

The thing about the pods though, was that Allura had taught _Pidge_ and _Hunk_ how to operate the Pods, and that’s because they were the techies, the ones who could read Altean. Pidge was the one who could read the language on a basic level and Hunk just recognized patterns really well.

“Come on Shiro, let’s get you in-that- POD.” And with a heavy push hat honestly felt like Lance tore something he managed to get Shiro into the pod and he slumped over to the controls. Now, was this some kind of automatic thing or did he need to set a timer? His eyesight began to blur a little, looking at the Altean Script using all of his limited Linguistic skills to try and interpret what he was seeing! Crow, why wasn’t any of this in Spanish?? He could read Spanish!

He pressed a button he hoped turned the things on, and blue permeated from the ground and up into the pods which generally was a good sign when working tech around this castle and Lance, holding his side limped to his own pod, dragging himself in praying he didn’t die in his sleep.

\--

Lance stumbled out of the pod, achey exhausted and extremely hungry. He stumbled to the mess hall, which was empty. Not thinking much of it, he meandered to the food goo dispenser to go for a simple bowl of green jello and a water packet.

When Lance sat down the mice crawled out from their hiding places and crowded around the pile of goo in Lance’s bowl, asking for bites like they haven’t had food in a while. Which was odd.

“Alright Alright I get it, hang on let me get you a bowl for yourselves you little monsters.”

Being the benevolent paladin he was he got another bowl for the small fellows. It wasn’t even a minute later when (TK large mouse) took a huge gulp of the stuff. Okay, that image made his stomach roll food should NOT look like that going down a throat. He pushed the bowl across the table appetite now officially lost. Hunk could make him something with a little more substance later.

The thought of Hunk froze Lance’s blood no one else had been there when Lance woke up. There was no one in the mess hall. He hadn’t heard Coran’s outrageous stories or Pidge’s finagling in things they shouldn’t.

Lance was outta there faster than lighting. Feet pounding on the floor as loud as his heart He skidded to a halt at the door to the pod room as he looked around, hoping his friends were out and just as groggy and hungry he had been, but there was no one. Lance had been the first one out.

How long had he been asleep for? How long would it take for his friends to wake up too? 

“Oh no, no NO.” Lance felt the iron grip of panic clamp down on him as he rushed to the console, looking at the readings. He still couldn’t read them. That was okay. Nothing was red, there was no harsh tone of a single beep. It was fine, everything was fine. If lance looked close enough he could see the rise and fall of little Pidge’s chest in the pod, their clothes torn and face bruised but healing. Oh, Crow, he could _cry._

Lance was suddenly reminded of Mei, and how alone she was in Antartica. He wasn’t on earth though. He didn’t have a way to get out and go home if things went wrong. Lance was totally alone, wait no he had the mice like Mei had snowball.

Worst of all Lance didn’t know how to control most or any of these systems. He could try to make repairs, but this technology was way beyond him how could he contribute?

But he would. No time for sad Lance, no time for panic. He stood up, but his breath caught. He couldn’t do this. No no he could not do this by himself. He was in space, alone with only _mice_ as his companions. He was good for bad flirting the occasional strategy and putting bullets in people he could NOT do this.

Lance’s breath began to stutter and his heart pounded in his ears. He felt too hot and too cold at the same time. He scrambled back against the wall, and slid down to the floor, burying his face in his knee’s and grabbing onto his hair, tugging at it, trying to get himself under control. He _had_ to be under control.

Lance squeezed his eyes shut and tried to get his breathing under control, a meditation exercise or something. Maybe to get to the Iris and talk to Zen or something? Could Lance even get that relaxed? He didn’t know, but he tried. Breathing in for four, and out for, he broke a couple of times but time seemed to slip away as he breathed.

He didn’t manage to get deep enough in meditation but suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder, shaking him to awareness. “Lance? Buddy?” The voice was muffled by the roaring in his ears, and Lance was shaking. No. He was being _Shaken_ by someone, and Lance did his best to look up from his knee’s to see whoever was trying to get his attention.

“ _Hunk?_ ” His voice cracked, and his best buddy in the whole wide Universe nodded.

“Yeah, It’s me buddy. What happened? Are you hurt? How did we get in the pod? Are we safe-“ Hunk stopped when Lance wrapped his arms around Hunk’s huggable figure and gave him a tight squeeze.

“Hunk my dude you have _no idea_ how happy I am to see you!” He choked out.

Hunk was still and returned the hug, patting Lance’s back, “It’s good to be back. Now tell me what’s going on.” And Lance did.

He told Hunk about the Galra attack, how everyone was wounded, how Lance had to put everyone in pods even though he had no idea what he was doing. He told Hunk about waking up going to eat and almost spilled the beans about Mei, and her friends and being alone in a cold desolate climate. Lance shivered, and Hunk patted his shoulder again, thinking that Lance was probably still freaked about the pods.

“I’ll make sure Coran knows EVERYONE needs to be brushed up on proper pod use, now I need you to come help me try to get the engines running.”

Lance grinned, “I’ll do my best.”

As they left the room, Lance’s heart gave a bit of a clench in anxiety and he looked back at the others, still sleeping in their pods. They would wake up. They would be fine, so Lance turned right back around to help Hunk get this place up and running again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah-HA Did you think I would leave you hanging for long? Well, you guys are just lucky I couldn't sleep.

On Earth:

Mei sat slumped at her desk, staring at two frames sitting just in front of her face. Normally they were on her nightstand but today she simply felt like wallowing in her past. Which wasn’t very productive, but she didn’t particularly care.

In one frame it was her friends, the other… Lance with a homemade face mask grinning up a storm with Mei on the other side practically laughing as she grinned ear to ear with Snowball in the mix, floating between the two of them cute little arrows pointing up to so joy in the moment. It was an image of much happier times.

“I wish I knew how to help you Lance.” She said to the picture, and leaned back in her chair. When Zenyatta came back with the news to the Overwatch team everyone had started buzzing and wanted to send messages to Lance. Especially Jesse.

From what Zenyatta informed, Lance was out in space being a hero. _‘Just like you cowboy!’_ Lucio had crowed, slapping his knee then patting Jesse’s back.

Jesse nodded and rubbed the back of his neck grin just a little too brittle. “ _M_ _ore a' me has rubbed off than I  originally anticipated.”_

Mei couldn’t help but wonder how Lance was doing, what space adventures he had been on. If he had come across any fascinating environments. Lance love to have Zenyatta share tales of his many adventures in space and it had been a while since Lance had sent a message. Silence wasn’t Lance’s style, and everyone was starting to feel a little antsy from the lack of contact.

Being stuck here on earth with Lance in space was just _awful._

“If only we could _get_ to you.” She whispers to the photo, and she sighs, rubbing the back of her neck, massaging her fingers into the tightness there. It wouldn’t be that easy to fly. It took three days to reach the moon right now as it was! Who knows how long it would take to reach the kind of space Lance was in just to face off a race called the ‘Galra’.

If only Mei could snap her fingers and BAM have a portal or something to… TELEPORT to Lance. Wait. Mei sat up and then pushed her chair back.

Snapping to teleport might not be a magical way to get to Lance..but _teleportation_ was a good place to start.

Mei jogged to the computer lab and started flicking through files and opened a spreadsheet, typing away at data and plans. She wasn’t any good at schematics, she was an environmental engineer, not an architect but some crude ideas and some proper physics…

She quickly saved her progress with a short keystroke and nabbed the memory stick heading up to Winston’s lab.

“Winston!” Mei called, her excitement obvious by her bursting through the door, holding up the memory stick. Mei vaguely recognized the beeping behind her from snowball. She had to tell Winston her idea!

Her friend looked up from a pile of paperwork.

“What is it?” He asked, furrowing his brows, and Mei shook her arm a little, to draw attention to the flash drive.

“I have to talk to you. I- I think if we try these calculations out, we can help get Lance home, or uh help the universe. Whichever comes first.”

Winston gave Mei a searching look and sighed, grasping the drive gently.

“I’ll give it a look.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Was this a nice surprise? Tell me your thoughts down below! And don't forget to Kudos! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Have any of you noticed something special about this part of Highnoon? well GUESS WHAT...you're not getting chapter 2 till NEXT YEAR!! >:D  
> anyway, happy new years everyone! Comments and Kudos are much appreciated! Till next time darlings~


End file.
